Saw the original SB, don't have a copy. I had this one done yesterday:

Applicability: Evora S
Issue: Clutch pedal falls to the floor, resp. loss of clutch action
Cause: Boiling hydraulic fluid due to overheating in the engine bay
Correction: There is an additional piece of thermal insulation, that should be mounted on the hydraulic line close to the clutch cylinder. The hydraulic line then has to be vented and refilled.

My clutch pedal fellt through when I started the car on Monday. After pulling it all the way back up I was able to return home (300 KM), but with a very soft pedal. Afterwards I recollected, that the pedal had become softer over time, I've done a lot of high speed driving, so the engine bay gets very hot in that area.

The dealer didn't have the riginal thermal covering, but he improvised. Draining the system was acutally the much bigger chore. Its really tight under that engine and the cluth only refills at the very top end of the pedal (which meant holding it up until all the air was out.

Will be interesting to see if half the clutch issues on the 2010's were caused by the same thing??? Once the throwout becomes inconsistent, it opens the doors for all other kinds of unintentional abuse like missed shifts, grinding, effectively "dropping the clutch" etc.

the esprit also suffered from clutch line problems, often referred to as "red hose problems" because the line was red. it was plastic/rubber and would expand when hot.
the solution was and is, to install a braided stainless steel line, available from the usual suspects.
tomas
87 esprit

Saw the original SB, don't have a copy. I had this one done yesterday:

Applicability: Evora S
Issue: Clutch pedal falls to the floor, resp. loss of clutch action
Cause: Boiling hydraulic fluid due to overheating in the engine bay
Correction: There is an additional piece of thermal insulation, that should be mounted on the hydraulic line close to the clutch cylinder. The hydraulic line then has to be vented and refilled.

My clutch pedal fellt through when I started the car on Monday. After pulling it all the way back up I was able to return home (300 KM), but with a very soft pedal. Afterwards I recollected, that the pedal had become softer over time, I've done a lot of high speed driving, so the engine bay gets very hot in that area.

The dealer didn't have the riginal thermal covering, but he improvised. Draining the system was acutally the much bigger chore. Its really tight under that engine and the cluth only refills at the very top end of the pedal (which meant holding it up until all the air was out.

I was wondering if this clutch problem is indigenous to all evoras or are there just a few with this problem? I am looking to buy a 2011 evora and I am holding back after reading all the messages about the clutch.

Handful of cars. Mine has seen track duty with NO issues (NA)
Skip barber has a few for their driving school and none have had the issue either. They don't get much hotter than that. Anyone with fluids more than a year old should bleed their lines to get the coke colored fluids out! That's the real problem I bet.

The clutch problem is with all cars and it is hard to bleed pedal needs to be at the top to do it.
When the car is used worked hard in hot temperatures summer heat soak causes fluid to boil air stays in the system eventually causing pedal loss. the solution is to bleed replacing fluid with AP racing 600 fluid has higher boiling temp no problem after that even with heat shield it boils on original fluid when worked hard.

The clutch problem is with all cars and it is hard to bleed pedal needs to be at the top to do it.
When the car is used worked hard in hot temperatures summer heat soak causes fluid to boil air stays in the system eventually causing pedal loss. the solution is to bleed replacing fluid with AP racing 600 fluid has higher boiling temp no problem after that even with heat shield it boils on original fluid when worked hard.

My master cylinder had to be replaced - and post that Motul 600 was used. No issues after that - including a good track day. No fade or spongy brakes at any point all day.

The service manager at Galpin was uncertain as to whether or not using Motul 600 would be a warranty issue with Lotus. I know it exceeds what Lotus recommends, but that isn't a bad thing in this instance.

The service manager at Galpin was uncertain as to whether or not using Motul 600 would be a warranty issue with Lotus. I know it exceeds what Lotus recommends, but that isn't a bad thing in this instance.

Any first-hand knowledge regarding this?

Motul RBF 600 is a DOT 4 fluid (as specd in owner manual) so Lotus can not hold it against warranty.

Motul RBF 600 is a DOT 4 fluid (as specd in owner manual) so Lotus can not hold it against warranty.

How would they know anyway? Just like how would an owner know if the correct oil was used in an oil change by a service facility? Seems a rather pointless concern (unless of course the fluid color was obviously different, but I don't believe that's the case).

I dropped my car off at Manhattan Motorcars today. Towing into Manhattan from Jersey City was easier than I expected and the flatbed driver was great. I was able to get the clutch a bit of pressure after I pumped it 20 times or more, and was able to drive it out of the parking garage and up the bed of the tow truck.

I'm still waiting to hear the status from the dealer, but they confirmed there was a TSB for some clutch components and they said they might need to order some parts.

GM had this same problem when the new C6 Z06 came out in 2006 and I had one of the first early Z06's. The 427 engine just ran hotter than the smaller Corvette engine and if you lived in a hot area or raced the car a lot, the clutch would start to get spongy and fail. The problem was solved by changing the factory DOT 3 with DOT 4 fluid. I never experienced the problem myself but I changed the fluid just in case my engine was to get a little hotter during those summer days where we were all taking our cars to the limit on old Route 66!

The Evora being a mid engine design with the master clutch cylinder in the back of the car is going to have to deal with a lot more heat, I would think Lotus would have learned from their racing experience this is problem with a mid engine design and put a clutch fluid cooler on the car as well as one for the trans fluid also. I believe there are some good aftermarket coolers for those who drive their car a little harder.

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